“My god. Another…Indian!” Shawna murmured.
“Another half-breed,” Skylar said quickly. “He’s a friend, a dear, good friend!” she explained happily, and followed herhusband out to embrace the stranger, kissing his cheeks as he enveloped her in a hug.
Apparently, Shawna reflected dryly, staring at her cousin who returned her wry assessment, the newcomers did not seek to kill them.
“Shall we find out what’s happening?” Alistair suggested.
“Definitely,” Shawna agreed.
She ventured out, Alistair directly behind her. The small, slim man—with features so wrinkled that he had a troll’s look about him—smiled. It was a nice smile. Shawna smiled back.
“When did you arrive?” Hawk was asking the half-breed Indian newcomer.
“Not thirty minutes ago.” He appeared quite tense and worried. “We arrived to discover that there was, indeed, trouble here. This good fellow here is Mr. James McGregor, bearer of the ring sent to you previously and very anxious, when he made my acquaintance back in Gold Town, to find out about you. I had assured him you had left for Craig Rock, and his story was so intriguing, I determined that I must accompany him here.”
“Sloan, what a very good friend you are!” Skylar said. “It’s so good to see you.”
“And your timing was impeccable,” Hawk assured him. He then turned to Brother Damian.
“How did you know to come here?”
“I didn’t know. We heard the commotion,” Brother Damian said. Except that there was no longer a pleasant Irish lilt to his voice.
It was a different voice.
David’s voice—deep and husky and all Scottish.
Shawna gasped, realizing that he had deceived her all along. He had gone about by day, spying on them all. Not just in the passageways of the castle, but wherever he chose to be, walking among them all. His deception had been complete. She’d notrecognized him in any way, shape, or form. He had been at the tavern, drawing her out. She was furious that he had deceived her so easily.
Apparently, he had deceived others, too.
“My god! David!” Skylar gasped. “Why didn’t you just tell me who?—”
“The disguise was important, Skylar. I didn’t know who in the household I dared trust. It’s been the only way I can move around by light of day. Skylar, where is the boy?”
“Danny?” Skylar gasped. “He is with Anne-Marie. I pray God that?—”
“I pray God as well, but I do believe that Anne-Marie is innocent of any wrongdoing.”
“I gave him over to her,” Hawk said. “We couldn’t bring him here.”
Skylar continued to stare at David. “I thought I was insane, wondering what it was about you that was so familiar. Now I know. Douglas eyes! I feel like a fool for not having recognized your eyes immediately.”
His eyes! Shawna thought. Aye, she should have recognized the eyes herself.
But she had not.
“The disguise was necessary,” David said.
Indeed, Shawna thought.
Necessary.
Against all of them.
He had donned his disguise not just to watch her kin, she thought, but to watch her as well. Her anger grew.
She longed to fly at him and tear his fake whiskers off one by one. She struggled for control.